Improvement in railroad-car seats and berths



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Seat and Couch for Railway Cars. No. 20,777. Patented July 6, 1858.

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Z. COBB.

Seat and Couch for Railway Cars. y No. 20,777. Patented July 6,1858.

fag @y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Z. COBB, OF CHICAGO, lLlilNOlS.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-CAR SEATS AND BERTHS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 20,777, dated July G, 1858.

To all whom ttf/nay concern:

Be it known that I, ZENAS COBB, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful improvement in railroad-cars, for enabling the two seats fronting each other to be converted into a double berth, and a corresponding berth for two persons to be formed immediately above the same; and I do hereby declare lthat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ot' this specitication, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section of the interior of a portion of the side ot' a railroad-car with two seats arranged for the accommoda` tion of four passengers and the platforms for forming the upper double berth suspended in upright positions above the backs of the same. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same with the table lowered. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the two seats and platforms above lowered to the positions designed to form the double berths.

Similar letters in the several figures refer to corresponding parts.

rlhe seats A are each capable of accommodating two persons in a sitting posture, and consists of a horizontal-framed seat portion, A', cushioned on their upper parts, and provided at their ends with horizontal timbers B, secured below the ends of their frames, and resting on horizontal longitudinal rails or ledges C, projecting from them on the inner sides of the car, and the side of a planking ruiming along the longitudinal passage-way through the car. These horizontal frames A arejointed to corresponding cushioned frames A2, which form the backs of the seats, by means of metallic castings on their ends, by pins or bolts, in such a manner as to enable the said cushioned backs to be raised to the angle of inclination to correspond with the reclining posture desired by the occupants ofthe seat, being held in such .position by the upright transverseframe-works D, which form partitions between the backs of all the seats. llhe backs of these seatsare capable of being brought to a horizontal position on the same plane as their lower portions, A', by sliding these lower portions on the projections Cat their ends toward each other until they. meet at a point midway between the partitions D, and causing the ends ot' the frame-works of the backs A2 to rest on horizontal ledges E, secured to the partitions D, and in this manner to convert the two seats into a convenient and comfortable sleepingberth for two persons.

Above the backs of the seats are arranged two cushioned frames, F, one over each seat, each being equal in capacity to the lower portion and back of the seats A combined, which cushioned frames Fare suspended to the transverse partitions D by bars Gr, attached loosely at their ends by pins o r bolts to the portions ot' their frames next the sides of the car a-nd the passage-way through the same, which bars G are hooked or otherwise attached to the eyes of ring-bolts or staples or bolts inserted in the sides ofthe car and the corneruprights of the transverse partitions D in such a manner as to either enable these cushioned frames to be retained in the upright position represented in ing berth, when it is desired to furnish the l necessary sleeping accommodations, in connection with the lower berth, for the four persons previously occupying the seats A. These cushioned frames F are supported in a horizontal position by cast projections or lugs H, secured to their ends near the edges nextthe partitions D, which projections or lugs H rest on the upper edges of the bars G, and by swinging hooks or lugs I, capable of being moved on the pins which support them in depressions in a horizontal bar, K, secured to uprights L, next the passage-way through the ears, and in similar depressions in a projec tion secured to the under surface of a table, M, when said table is raised to the upright position represented in Figs. l and 3, next the side ofthe car, or, in the absence ofthe table,

to the side of the ear itself, so as to enable their ends to be brought out at right angles, for the end pieces of the cushioned frames to rest upon them, or moved into correspondinglyformed spaces or depressions in the bar K and projections.

The bar K may be rabbeted at its ends and provided with mortises at these parts, into which corresponding tenons on the uprights L enter for enabling it to be secured firmly between the same, and taken therefrom when itis not desired to employ the cushioned frames F as a double sleeping-berth; or it may be jointed at one end to one of the upright posts, as represented. l

One end ot' an oblong table-top, M, is attached to the side of the car, between each pair of seats, by means of pivots orjournals entering boxes secured to the car, upon which it moves as a hinge, which table is swung upward to the position represented in Fig. 2, and secured there by .a sliding or turning bolt, N, when it is not desired to use the same, and lowered to the horizontal position represented in Figs. l and 2, and supported by legs O, jointed or hinged to near its Vibrating end between the seats, as occasion may require.

rIhe spaces between the center uprights, L, at the inner ends of the seats, are lei't open to allow free access to the seats and berths, and the spaces between these uprights and the corner uprights of the partitions D may be provided with reticulated wire-work ot' an allegorical character, or with ornamental trelliswork, through which `the air and light can freely penetrate.

By a perusal of the foregoing description and' reference to the drawings it will be observed that when it is desired to occupy the seats A in a sitting posture it is only necessary to raise their backs A2 and slide their horizontal seat portions A on the rails orledges G toward the partitions D, with the tops ofthe ybacks resting against the partitions, until the sleeping-berths capable of accommodating the four passengers for which the seats are designed, the horizontal bar K is placed and secured in its position between the center uprights, L, and the hooks or lugs I are turned outward at right angles from the depressions or spaces in the same, and in the projection on the bottom ot the table M or side ot' the car,

and the said 'cushioned frames F are brought,

to a horizontal position,with their edges together and their portions next these edges resting on the hooks or lugs I, the ends ot' which enter openings in castings on their under surfaces, while their opposite edges next the partitions are supported by thc projecting ears or lugs H, resting on the upper surfaces of the jointed bars G. The horizontal por; tions A of the seats below are then slid -toward each other over the ways,ledges. or projectionsU, and brought together, and the backs A2 are allowed to fall and rest upon the ledges or projections E.

Whatl claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv l. Arranging the lower portions, A', and hinged backs A2 ofthe seats Aon the rails and ledges C E, so as to either enable them to be used as a double sleeping-couch or as a seat, in the manner before described.

2. The arrangement of the cushioned frames or platforms F above the seats A, and jointing them to the uprights ot' the partitions D and sides ot' the car, and providing them with lugs H, and the sides of the car and the movable bar with swinging hooks or lugs I for forming the upper double berth, when desired, as described.

ZENAS COBB.

Vitnesses:

J. F. BUcKLnY, M. HUens. 

